Microsoft azure, a cloud-based technology developed by Microsoft, aims to ensure companies create and manage their businesses in a cost-effective manner by taking advantage of data-centres around the globe.
The demand for this product has seen a steady rise in revenue generations. For instance, Hodgson (2019) reported that Microsoft beat sales and earnings expectations last year “rising to $30.6 billion against predicted average sales of 29.9billion.” Of this revenue, 30% was contributed by Azure which was a 73% growth down from 76% in the last two preceding years. Intelligent cloud sales from Azure are predicted at $10.85-11.05bn this financial year.
Cloud computing market is expected to grow substantially over the coming years. According to the American News hour as cited by Market Watch (2020), the market size stood at US$ 62730 million in 2019 with a projection of US$383780 million by the end of 2026 in the LLC report on global cloud computing. This growth is attributed to increase in organizations adopting the use of digitalized operations, increased used of AI in data centres, demand for disaster-recovery as a service and the continued use of hybrid clouding.
As more organizations opt to use cloud computing in running their operations, the demand for premium cloud services such as warehousing and internet infrastructure is rising. The corporation has to adjust its long-range plan to meet this upsurge in demand. With increased demand projections, prices are expected to also increase; consequently the company expects to boosts its sales. With this in mind, Microsoft Corporation has to check on its scalability and allocate resources appropriately to ensure that probability of stock-outs is eliminated. Moreover, increase in demand also implies increase in competition from other brands. All products, therefore, must be inspected for defectives and errors before being sold or taken to the warehouse.
Demand forecasts play a vital role in the planning and budget allocations of organizations regardless of the size. Thus having appropriate forecasting technique acts as a guide in effective allocations minimizing on unnecessary costs such as inventory stock-outs, additional lead time and unhealthy stocks.
References
Hodgson, C. (2019). Microsoft beats forecasts with cloud services growth. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/123d1e7e066c2-11e9-9adc-98bf1d35a056
Market Watch. (2020). Cloud computing market share 2020 global industry size, growth, trend, demand, top players, opportunities and forecast to 2026. Retrieved from www.marketwatch.com/press-release/cloudcloud-computing-market-share-2020-global-industry-size-growth-trend-demand-top-players-opportunities-and-forecast-to-2026-2020-01-02